Five Environmental Stocks to Buy Now

#4 Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

– Investors with Long Positions (as of December 31): 19

 – Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of December 31): $366 million

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)’s stock has been on an upward journey for the last six months, appreciating by nearly 35% in that period. During the fourth quarter, when it rose by 16%, the ownership of the company among funds covered by us declined by four. However, the aggregate value of their holdings in it increased by $41.6 million during the same time. On January 19, the company announced that to expand in Canada it has agreed to purchase Progressive Waste Solutions (NYSE:BIN) for $2.67B, following which its stock started rallying and now trades up 16.13% year-to-date. Analysts feel that this merger will create significant value for Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) ‘s shareholder in the long-term. On February 10, analysts at Credit Suisse boosted their price target on the stock to $66 from $60, while keeping their rating on it unchanged at ‘Outperform’. Billionaire David E. Shaw‘s firm, D. E. Shaw & Co., reduced its holding in the company by 60% to 120,313 shares during the fourth quarter.

#3 Stericycle Inc (NASDAQ:SRCL)

 – Investors with Long Positions (as of December 31): 20

 – Aggregate Value of Investors’ Holdings (as of December 31): $270.76 million

Stericycle Inc (NASDAQ:SRCL) saw its popularity among hedge funds slump heavily during the fourth quarter with ownership of the company among investors tracked by us declining by 14 and the aggregate value of their holdings falling by $142.5 million. The main reason behind that seems to be the disappointing numbers the company posted for its fiscal 2015 third quarter, following which its stock fell swiftly. Stericycle Inc (NASDAQ:SRCL) is also the only stock on this list, which is currently trading in the red for 2016. Several analysts feel that investors should avoid Stericycle’s stock at this juncture since it is performing poorly relative to its peers, but trades at a higher valuation of forward P/E of 20.35 compared to them. On February 8, analysts at RBC Capital reiterated their ‘Sector Perform’ rating on the stock, but lowered their price target to $119 from $120, which represents a potential downside of 2% from the stock’s current trading price. Barry Dargan‘s Intermede Investment Partners initiated a stake in Stericycle Inc during the fourth quarter by purchasing 213,519 shares.